Modem heating and cooling systems are widely used world wide to heat and cool buildings. Human endeavors are more comfortable and more productive in a temperature controlled environment. Nearly every home in the United States of America for example has either a heating unit such as a furnace or a cooling unit such as an air conditioner. Many homes have both heating and cooling units.
Heating of buildings particularly during the winter months requires much energy often in the form of fossil fuels. Likewise cooling of buildings, particularly in the summer requires much electricity which often is generated by burring fossil fuels. Because of the need for temperature control and the high energy consumption required, methods of heating and cooling that utilize less energy are desirable and have been widely sought.
The present invention provides a significant step forward for both heating and cooling. The present invention describes multiple embodiments which each split the traditional heat pump/refrigeration loop into two half loops. In a first embodiment, the first half loop operates a compressor in the winter to create heat by compressing a fluid. The compressed fluid is then stored. The second half of the loop operates in the summer by expanding the stored fluid to cool the building. The expanded fluid (low pressure fluid) is then stored for use in the ensuing winter. Thus one half of the traditional cycle heat pump cycle operates in the winter and the other half of the traditional heat pump cycle operates in the summer. Large fluid storage tanks are required to store high pressure fluid and low pressure fluid. In a second embodiment the first half loop is in cold regions. Low pressure fluids are compressed to form high pressure fluids, thereby releasing heat. The high pressure fluid is then transported to a hot region where the second half loop is performed. The high pressure fluid is expanded in the hot region, thereby absorbing heat, and becoming a low pressure fluid). The low pressure fluid then being transported back to the cold region to be used again. Tanks of the fluid can be transported between the hot region and cold region. Alternately, a pipeline is proposed to connect the hot region and the cold region. Both embodiments, conserve energy, resources, and reduce global warming.
Prior art heat pumps use full loop compression cycles. Work is done on a fluid through a compressor which compresses the fluid. Heat from the compression is released into the building. The fluid is then evaporated where it absorbs heat from the cold environment. The fluid is rapidly and continuously cycled in a fill loop between the condenser and the evaporator.
Prior art air conditioners use full loop compression cycles. Work is done on a fluid through a compressor which compresses the fluid. Heat from the compression is released into the warm environment. The fluid is then evaporated where it absorbs heat from the building. The fluid is rapidly and continuously cycled in a fill loop between the condenser and the evaporator.
Note that in both the heat pump and in the air conditioner, work is done (electrical energy is required). Additionally, friction in the compressor is generally wasting heat in both the heat pump and the air conditioner. Moreover, heat is dumped into a warm environment in the summer and heat is drawn from a cold environment in the winter.
No prior art provides a technique to use the work done to create heat within a building to also absorb heat from a building at a later time and/or in a different location. The present art, stores the energy invested in the heating cycle to later be used in the cooling cycle. It effectively links building heating and building cooling into one deep cycle multi-stage process with enabling apparatus. When considering entropy, it is not possible to create a system which produces net coolness (in example, a xe2x80x9ccoolingxe2x80x9d system actually dumps heat into the environment far in excess of what it removes from a building). The present art eliminates all of this excess heat produced in the prior art cooling systems. Many scientists are concerned about global warming, the present system eliminates the heat generated in prior art cooling systems. Moreover, energy is conserved since the cooling side of the deep cycle loop of the present invention does not require any energy input in contrast with prior art. Additionally, friction heat can be used more efficiently in the present invention compared to prior art.
The invention described herein represents a significant improvement in heating of buildings and in cooling of buildings. In a first deep cycle half loop process, a compressor and condenser operate to compress and extract heat from a fluid. Said heat and friction energy being released into a building to provide heat. The compressed fluid is then stored in a high pressure storage tank or pipe for use at a later time or different location. In a second deep cycle half loop process, the compressed fluid is decompressed or evaporated to absorb heat from a building, thereby cooling a building and creating a low pressure fluid. Said low pressure fluid being stored for later use. Note that no energy need be expended to cool the building in the second half loop. The apparatus can include a high pressure storage means and a low pressure storage means whereby fluid generally will flow either from high pressure to low pressure or vice versa for extended periods of time. When considering entropy, it is not possible to create a system which produces net coolness (in example, a prior art xe2x80x9ccoolingxe2x80x9d system actually dumps heat into the environment far in excess of what it removes from a building). Many scientists are concerned about global warming, the present system eliminates the heat generation common in prior art cooling systems. Moreover, it conserves energy since the cooling side of the full deep cycle loop of the present invention does not require any energy input in contrast with cooling systems of prior art. Additionally, friction heat can be used more efficiently in the present invention compared to prior art.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my invention are apparent. It is an object of the present invention to provide a heating process and apparatus which can be used in cold climate locations and seasons. Said process and apparatus requires electrical energy input to compress a fluid and extract heat from said fluid compression process. It is an advantage of the present system that said compressed fluid is stored in a high pressure storage tank or pipe for use at a different time or location. It is a further advantage that friction from said compression process also heats the said building. It is an object of the present invention to provide a means for cooling a building. It is an advantage of the present invention to use the above compressed fluid to absorb heat from a building at a subsequent time or at a different location. It is an object of the present invention to conserve energy by creating a building cooling system which requires no energy input to compress fluid but instead uses fluid which was compressed as part of a heating cycle. It is an object of the present invention to eliminate significant heat energy from being dumped into the environment by cooling without a compressor operating solely for that purpose but instead using fluid which was used as part of a heating cycle. It is an advantage of the present system to eliminate and friction heat from the cooling process. It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a means to transport high pressure fluid from cold regions where it released heat. Said high pressure fluid being brought to a lower pressure in a hot region, thereby absorbing heat with no direct energy cost (except that of transport and containment). It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a means to transport low pressure fluid from hot regions where it absorbed heat. Said low pressure fluid being compressed to a higher pressure in a cold region, thereby releasing heat.
Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the enclosed figures and specifications.